The New Orleans Saints are facing a major crunch at the running back position, and it feels like a brutal case of hindsight being 20/20. Just weeks after letting backup running backs Devin Neal and Audric Estime—the team’s preseason rushing leader—sign with the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad after injury settlements, starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined until November. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that is already struggling to find solid ground game production.
Saints coach Kellen Moore addressed the tough call on Saturday, explaining that it boiled down to pure roster management. The NFL limits teams to bringing back a maximum of eight players from injured reserve during the regular season. With linebacker Jaylan Ford, safety Lorenzo Styles Jr., long snapper Zach Wood, left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., and of course, Etienne, already taking up five of those potential slots, the Saints simply didn’t have the luxury of holding a spot for Estime or Neal, even though Estime was eligible to return as early as Monday night against the Falcons.
While Moore didn’t fully explain why the players were placed on IR in the first place if they were healthy enough to play just a few weeks later, the reality of roster limits often forces tough choices. It is possible Neal and Estime preferred to seek opportunities elsewhere rather than sit on the bench all season. There was also some confusion regarding injury settlement rules and whether signing with the Vikings would prevent the Saints from bringing them back later, but Moore made it clear that the math simply did not work out for New Orleans.
Now, the Saints are left with a very thin group featuring Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, and CJ Donaldson on the active roster, with Zamir White and Ulysses Bentley IV on the practice squad. Without Etienne and with their rushing attack ranking near the bottom of the league—largely propped up by quarterback Tyler Shough’s scrambling ability—New Orleans will have to get creative to survive until their star runner returns in November.
